Junior Maddie Hunsicker’s initial reaction to Governor Whitmer’s executive order that closed school until April 5 was quite different from her perception of how it’s going now. 

“I thought it was super cool at first,” Hunsicker said. “I thought I was just going to have a nice little break from school and get to hang out with my best friend.”

Hunsicker says she was wrong. 

“I’m stuck at home with my older sister, so that’s not very fun,” Hunsicker said. “I haven’t lived with my sister since I was 14, so readjusting to that was a little awkward at first because she also has a daughter. That was the biggest adjustment for me because I’m the youngest and have never lived with a baby in the house.” 

Like others, Hunsicker has been forced to transition into a living-at-home schedule. She eats, sleeps, exercises, does schoolwork and maintains social interactions with her friends all from home. 

“I’ve been exercising from home and have been getting all my schoolwork done basically,” Hunsicker said. “I made myself a little room in the basement to get my schoolwork done because my niece can be a little distracting sometimes.” 

Hunsicker says her teachers have been really good about assigning schoolwork and making sure they’re keeping in touch with her. But that does not come without its challenges. She claims it’s been a struggle some days to get her work done. 

“It’s a struggle to get through the work because I overthink it,” Hunsicker said. “Teaching myself has been hard, but my teachers have been nice enough to make videos of the notes that we would normally do in class, so that’s been helpful.” 

Despite the ever-present challenge of finding something to do, Hunsicker has been proactive about making sure she’s intentionally holding herself to a schedule. Whether that’s with schoolwork, exercise, or even spending time with her sister and niece.

“I’ve been hanging out with my niece and sister a lot,” Hunsicker said. “I read to my niece, and just the other day my sister and I made some cookies which was fun.”